The present invention relates to the charging of a metallurgic furnace with burden, a mixture of ore or the like. Arc furnaces, particularly furnaces provided for the reduction of ore are usually provided with equipment for charging and feeding by means of which the charge is transferred from a storage facility into the interior of the furnace. Tubular channels, ducts or the like are usually used in this case, and they are situated so as to lead to the vicinity of the electrodes in the interior of the furnace in order to charge the furnace as close as possible to the electrodes. These feeding and charging tubes or pipes are exposed to rather high temperature which may reach up to or even above 1,600.degree. C. depending upon the atmosphere maintained in the furance.
It is known, for example, through the Norwegian Pat. No. 138,482, to provide particular construction for the interruption of the charging process by including slides or gate elements in the charging tubes. These slides or gates are in this case lined in a refractory fire-proof manner, so that they can take the high temperatures prevailing in the furnace. The construction and particularly the mounting of such a slide is quite complex. It was observed that primarily due to the complexity of the construction these slides or gates often jam, because ore or burden parts somehow lodge between the slide or gate and its guide and rail facility.